Faith and Jacki Dowling, the daughter and wife of Captain William Dowling, light a tree at Gleannloch Farms in Klein on Saturday night. Captain Dowling was injured six months ago in a hotel fire that took the lives of several firefighters. less

Faith and Jacki Dowling, the daughter and wife of Captain William Dowling, light a tree at Gleannloch Farms in Klein on Saturday night. Captain Dowling was injured six months ago in a hotel fire that took the ... more

Photo: Staff Photo By Ana Ramirez

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Families gather around food trucks during a tree lighting event at the Gleannloch Farms in Klein on Saturday night.

Families gather around food trucks during a tree lighting event at the Gleannloch Farms in Klein on Saturday night.

Photo: Staff Photo By Ana Ramirez

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A tree stands alone after being lit by Jacki and Faith Dowling, wife and daughter of Captain William Dowling, at the Gleannloch Farms Christmas celebration in Klein on Saturday night.

A tree stands alone after being lit by Jacki and Faith Dowling, wife and daughter of Captain William Dowling, at the Gleannloch Farms Christmas celebration in Klein on Saturday night.

Photo: Staff Photo By Ana Ramirez

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Firefighting hero’s wife and daughter light Christmas tree

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The wife and daughter of Houston Firefighter Captain William Dowling performed ceremonial tree-lighting duties for the Gleannloch Farms neighborhood Christmas tree on Saturday evening.

Jacki Dowling, standing-in for her still recuperating husband (who was released to his Klein-area home from Memorial Hermann Hospital on Wednesday to a hero’s welcome), was the guest of honor at the second annual Christmas-themed neighborhood event, along with the couple’s 13-year-old daughter, Faith, and the two performed official tree-lighting duties while also asking for prayers for their family’s “new normal.”

“He’s doing really well. We’re adjusting,” Dowling told the neighborhood crowd of her recuperating husband. “We’re just asking you to keep praying for us, and our adjustment to our new normal.”

Dowling was one of 14 severely injured firefighters May 31, in the deadliest blaze in the Houston Fire Department's history. HFD received a call shortly after noon May 31 for a fire in a restaurant at the Southwest Inn hotel off U.S. 59 in southwest Houston.

Dowling's unit was the second on scene, and according to reports, the heavy, tile roof collapsed on Dowling, trapping him. Despite his injuries, Dowling was able to hit his mayday button alerting others to his location and resulting in his rescue.

Dowling was put into a medically induced coma since the accident, and ultimately spent six months hospitalized before being released on Wednesday.

Jacki Dowling said her husband is 100 percent dependent on round-the-clock care provided medical aides, and is currently unable to speak, though his rehabilitation therapists believe with time Dowling will regain his vocal ability.

The Dowlings, married 20 years, met while students at Klein Oak High School. They have three children, their daughter, a son, Forrest, 18, and their youngest son, Foster, 12.

Dowling had been with the Houston Fire Department for 13 years. He worked at Stations 12 and 19, was an EO (driver) at 25, transferred to 48 as a Captain, and started at 68 as a Captain in January. Jacki Dowling is a wife, mother and a P.E. teacher at Frank Elementary.

“We’re in survival mode,” Jacki Dowling said. “It’s much harder than I ever thought it would be.”